Chapter Thirteen: The Forum

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Safe now... In a stall of a public restroom, Li Sheng frowned as he changed out of his night-gear into ordinary clothes, packing the removed outfit into a vacuum-sealed bag.

After detecting the presence of the Insect Lord at the flower and bird market during the day, he had carefully weighed the pros and cons before deciding to follow the investigation, fully preparing himself for involvement in the anomaly.

The night-gear and sunglasses were only part of it. To prevent fingerprints from gloves slipping off, he coated all ten fingertips with glue.

To avoid injury or leaving blood on the ground that could be tested by the police to identify him, he also carried a small tube of bleach to destroy biological evidence.

Fortunately, neither was needed.

Li Sheng packed the vacuum bag into his backpack, climbed over the wall out of the restroom, and rode away on his bike.

It was late at night when he got home; his cousin and cousin’s wife were already asleep, his aunt was showering, and his uncle was watching TV on the sofa.

“I’m back,” Li Sheng said out of habit, changed into slippers, and headed to his bedroom.

“Xiao Sheng, wait a moment,” Uncle Xue Jingming suddenly said, looking a bit embarrassed. “Tomorrow the company boss invited our family to dinner, so your birthday...”

“It’s alright,” Li Sheng quickly understood and smiled. “Tomorrow’s the weekend, I’m celebrating with friends.”

His aunt’s family marked the day they adopted him as his birthday, and when he was young, they used to throw birthday parties for him.

As he grew older and gradually became aware of the subtle family atmosphere, Li Sheng got used to not troubling his aunt and uncle, choosing to go out with friends to celebrate on his own.

According to his schedule, he planned to work for Cui Yi tomorrow first, earning a daily wage of 1,800, then meet Mu Yulu and Han Letian in the evening to have hot pot or something else to celebrate his birthday.

“Alright then,” Uncle Xue Jingming relaxed. “Your aunt and I put a birthday red envelope on the dining table. Have fun with your friends tomorrow.”

“Okay, thank you, Uncle.”

Li Sheng nodded, took a plump gilded red envelope from the table, and opened it in his room. Inside was 888 yuan in cash.

Just as expected. Silently, Li Sheng put the envelope down. If it were from Aunt Li Zhao, it would contain 200 yuan. The 888 yuan was probably from Uncle Xue himself.

All his life, compared to the distant and indifferent Li Zhao, the unrelated Xue Jingming was closer to what one would call a “benevolent elder.”

Closing his bedroom door to block out the TV noise from the living room, Li Sheng skillfully covered his computer camera with a sticky note, plugged in a USB drive, opened a circumvention program, and typed in the website address for the World Nuking Agency.

After a half-second refresh delay, a clean and impressive webpage appeared.

Its main color was pale green, featuring a large title “World Nuking Agency,” with several sections below: company overview, corporate news, diversified business, services and support, partners, contact channels, complaints and suggestions, and finally, join the Nuking Agency.

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“Looks somewhat legit,” Li Sheng raised an eyebrow and browsed carefully, learning that the World Nuking Agency was established two and a half years ago, led by Chang Sun Yao.

It was a small business similar to a “jack-of-all-trades” shop, with over twenty full-time employees and more than forty contract workers. They took on any kind of business for enough money, including but not limited to intelligence trading, security services, arms procurement, and so forth.

Below was a large picture showing a kimono-clad girl surrounded by numerous miniature figurines, standing next to an F-15 attack jet developed by Lockheed Martin. The caption read:

“Warm congratulations to our staff member Miss Aozora for acquiring her beloved F-15. Miss Aozora joined the Nuking Agency six months ago and earned her fighter through hard work. A new female force on the killing field, balancing career with family. She is passionate and lively, buying a fifth-generation fighter just so her family can take to the skies.”

Further down was a photo of Chang Sun Yao herself, wearing a suit and a top hat, pointing her finger in the classic “Uncle Sam needs you” pose.

The caption read: “Your hesitation today will cause you to miss tomorrow’s fortune. Join us, and you can be like her.”

“What on earth is this?” Li Sheng was baffled, feeling the so-called World Nuking Agency seemed more and more unreliable.

Fortunately, he wasn’t looking for a job; his real interest was the forum mentioned by Chang Sun Yao.

Scrolling to the bottom of the page, he found a hyperlink labeled “Selector Forum.”

With a nervous heart, he clicked the link. The page slowly refreshed, displaying a singing whale icon in the middle.

After several seconds, the page finished loading and a line of text popped up:

“Greetings, Selector, welcome to the Killing Field Forum.

This site is led by the Whale Song organization, jointly established with various groups. Much of the foundational data is generously shared by many parties and individuals. Some pioneers have passed away. We thank them for their contributions and sacrifices, and salute the deceased and those who have gone to their deaths.”

As the message faded, the forum page appeared on the screen.

The entire site was divided into several sections: general board, newcomer guide, latest news, black market exchange, anonymous chatroom, and more.

Most sections and search functions were only accessible to registered users. Guests had no browsing privileges.

Li Sheng tried to click the register button but was told that only Selectors could see the CAPTCHA; without it, registration was impossible.

“...What exactly is a Selector?”

Full of questions, Li Sheng entered the only page available to guests—the Newcomer Guide. It introduced the forum to new members in a Q&A format.

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Q: What is the Killing Field?

A: Narrowly speaking, the Killing Field is a massive structure complex beyond Earth. Its location, history, function, and size are unknown (the explored part alone is no smaller than the entire solar system). Broadly speaking, the Killing Field also refers to everything derived from this vast architectural complex.

Q: Who built the Killing Field?

A: Unknown. The structure is extremely chaotic, with modules of varying functions and lacking any basic written system. However, judging by its enormous scale, the builders’ technological level far surpasses current human understanding.

Q: Who maintains the Killing Field?

A: Mechanical-like beings called Constructs. It is presumed the builders created them and programmed them to maintain the Killing Field. Some Constructs possess considerable combat capabilities and are called Security Guards. They maintain order within the Killing Field.

Q: What is a Selector? How does one become a Selector?

A: Starting four and a half years ago, the Killing Field began large-scale intervention on Earth, randomly selecting qualified individuals to join the “Killing Field Game.” This process is called Selection. Selectors usually possess outstanding traits in some aspect, positive or negative. Additionally, if a non-Selector kills a Selector, they can inherit their qualifications. Generally, Selectors are also called Players. Currently, about 270,000 Players worldwide are alive. Players can log into the Killing Field through their personal panel.

Q: What do Selectors/Players need to do?

A: The Killing Field periodically issues missions. There are three types:

1. Routine missions, triggered randomly and optional.

2. Mandatory missions, issued periodically and cannot be declined.

3. Script missions, where players are transported to worlds with different temporal and spatial backgrounds (parallel universes) to carry out tasks for the Killing Field.

All three mission types grant rewards upon completion; reward levels correlate with the player’s final performance. Punishments for failure vary.

Q: What abilities do Selectors/Players have?

A: The Killing Field and its constructs possess technology far beyond human comprehension. Moreover, the civilizations in script worlds differ greatly in development direction (e.g., sci-fi, fantasy, magic). Selectors can master extraordinary powers through learning, cultivation, skill scrolls, and equipment purchase.

Q: What dangers do Selectors/Players face?

A: Obviously, the greatest death threat to players is from the missions issued by the Killing Field. The second greatest threat comes from the Killing Field itself, which is not designed for players and contains many dangerous zones (such as the Divine Sin Tower) and experimental entities. Some of these entities can cross rifts into real Earth. The third greatest threat is other players. If encountering the Shadow Realm in reality, it is recommended to flee immediately in the opposite direction.

Q: What is the Shadow Realm?

A: The Shadow Realm is a projection dimension based on the real world. Visibility is poor, and damaged objects gradually restore over time without affecting reality. Some experimental entities inherently possess the ability to open the Shadow Realm. Those with extraordinary powers within its range are automatically drawn in. Players often use the Shadow Realm as a battlefield.

Q: As a newcomer, what should I do?

A: Observe more, listen more, think more. In the early stages of the Killing Field game’s interference with reality, 70% of new players didn’t survive the first three months. Once exposed in the real world, they were often kidnapped, threatened, or killed to seize their player qualifications. Fortunately, after four and a half years, the player environment has moved beyond the stage of wild growth. However, joining reliable official organizations and civilian guilds still significantly improves a newcomer’s survival chances.